Congratulations Dr. Tavakoli

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Sina Tavakoli, MD, PhD to Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Imaging effective 02/01/2023. Dr. Tavakoli received his medical degree from Tehran University of Medical Sciences, which was followed by postdoctoral research fellowships at the Institute for Genetic Medicine (University of Southern California) and Molecular Imaging Laboratory (Yale University). Subsequently, Dr. Tavakoli completed a combined PhD and Diagnostic Radiology residency program at University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio. He then performed a Cardiothoracic Imaging Fellowship at University of Washington, Seattle, prior to joining UPMC as an Assistant Professor in July 2017.

In addition to his clinical service in the division of Cardiothoracic Imaging, Dr. Tavakoli is a principal investigator of an NIH-funded lab which is focused on molecular imaging of inflammation in cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. Since joining UPMC, Dr. Tavakoli has served as the Principal Investigator of K08 and R21 grants from NIH and an RSNA seed grant as well as a co-investigator of two R01 grants and the mentor/sponsor of an F30 MSTP training grant. Dr. Tavakoli has published > 50 papers in high impact journals, including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Radiology, Journal of Nuclear Medicine, Nature Communications, Circulation Imaging, Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, and Circulation Research. He currently serves as an editorial board member for Journal of Nuclear Cardiology, and Radiology: Cardiothoracic Imaging in addition to his role as a grant reviewer for the National Institutes of Health and Department of Veterans Affairs.

Dr. Tavakoli has served as Associate Chief since September 2022, working in collaboration with Dr. Mitch Tublin, Interim Chief, to manage divisional operations and provide support to the faculty. Since stepping in as Associate Chief, Dr. Tavakoli has updated divisional policies, improved workflow, and has been actively involved in the successful recruitment of fellows and faculty. We look forward to the division’s continued success under Dr. Tavakoli’s leadership. We would also like to recognize and thank Mitch Tublin, MD for serving as Interim Chief over the past year. Dr. Tublin has successfully steered the division and we remain grateful for his stabilizing leadership and support. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Tavakoli on this new appointment and thanking Dr. Tublin for his dedicated service!